That is how many times the nurse stuck my arm this afternoon during my allergy skin test.
It was quite the educational day at the doctor's office:
1. You are allergic to what you are allergic to from the time you are born, but your immune system fights off everything for you for a long time if you are like me. I was never allergic to cats, fruits, pollen, etc. until after puberty. Apparently my immune system was overworked, underpaid, and decided to rebel.
2. During an allergy test, they insert a needle under the first two layers of skin and make a little bubble with whatever they are testing (ragweed, cat dander, etc.). You sit for about 10 minutes to wait and see what happens. Either the bubble goes down or it flairs up and the area around it turns red.
3. I was tested on both arms. My left arm was all of the grasses, dogs, and cats. My right arm was all of the trees, dust mites, and some other stuff I can't remember.
4. The nurse makes 8-10 sticks at a time on one arm and then moves to the other. In the time it takes to do the other arm, the first one is ready.
5. The nurse begins with a fairly weak dose of each allergen. If the skin does not react, she ups the dosage until there is a reaction or she reaches the highest dosage she can administer (meaning you are not allergic). If the skin reacts to the first dose, then she dilutes the dosage and continues to give you weaker ones until the skin has either a mild reaction or no reaction at all.
6. My arms looked like rows of red because I am highly allergic to all trees (except pine), all grasses, and cats. My blood work also shows that I am allergic to latex (which explains several fruit allergies) and peanuts.
7. I must say that I am the saddest about the peanuts. I told the nurse I have never had a reaction before. She informed me that the reactions get worse with exposure so if I continue to eat peanuts, I will eventually have a reaction and they will get really bad. So long Reese's and peanut M & M's!
8. Did I mention the itching! Holy cow! Once you have a reaction, it is like mosquitoes have been perched on your arm having a field day. And of course you can't scratch them. I started to exhibit other allergy symptoms (itching on my face, head, and nose) and my arms where so red that the nurse asked my doctor if she could give me a cortisone shot. So even though I had 86 sticks, the cortisone shot was the worst and should count as at least 10 more.
9. I start my immunotherapy shots next week. I was told to go home and put my feet up. No yard work (which is not my area anyways) and no house cleaning (hoo-ray!). It even got me out of cooking dinner!
10. In addition to shots, I am starting 2 new prescriptions and saline spray for my nose.
Now, the pictures....
Right and left arms after most of the pen was cleaned off, the bumps had gone down, and both arms had been slathered with anti-itch cream.
Here's the funniest part of all: I was just going to suffer through the spring like I do every year. Ha!
2 boxes of cereal (Froot Loops and Apple Jacks)
2 bottles of Arm and Hammer detergent
The fam and my big ole' diploma-seriously, we accidentally kept hitting each other with them once we sat back down
Mom, Baby B, and Dad